@article{scholars18722,
            note = {cited By 0},
          volume = {13},
          number = {3},
             doi = {10.3390/agronomy13030725},
            year = {2023},
           title = {Optimization of Fluidized-Bed Process Parameters for Coating Uniformity and Nutrient-Release Characteristics of Controlled-Release Urea Produced by Modified Lignocellulosic Coating Material},
         journal = {Agronomy},
          author = {Ali, A. M. and Azeem, B. and Alghamdi, A. M. and Shahzad, K. and Al-Zahrani, A. A. and Rashid, M. I. and Mahpudz, A. B. and Jamil, A.},
        abstract = {Controlled-release fertilizers are employed in precision agriculture to optimize technology-enabled farming without environmental deterioration. In this study, almond-shell lignocellulosic waste particles are chemically processed to synthesize a coating suspension for the production of controlled-release urea (CRU) in a Wurster fluidized-bed reactor. The interactive effect of process parameters such as atomizing air pressure (Pair), fluidized-bed temperature (Tfb), spray rate (Rspray), and fluidizing-air flow rate (Qair) on the (i) coating-film uniformity of CRU particles and (ii) longevity of nutrient-release from CRU is reported. CCRD is used with RSM to design the experiments for the optimization of nutrient-release performance and coating-film uniformity in terms of a coefficient-of-variance (CoV) of film thickness. The regression models indicate a good prediction of coating-film uniformity and nutrient-release time, with R2 = 0.971 and R2 = 0.98, respectively. The optimum conditions for coating-film uniformity are determined to be Pair = 3.5 bar, Tfb = 80 {\^A}oC, Rspray = 0.15 mL/s, and Qair = 72 m3/h, with a predicted CoV film thickness of 11.5. Similarly, Pair = 3.2 bar, Tfb = 78 {\^A}oC, Rspray = 0.125 mL/s, and Qair = 75 m3/h are the optimum conditions for nutrient-release performance, with a prediction nutrient-release time = 56 h. The experimental validation yields a CoV of film thickness = 12.6 and a nutrient-release time = 49.5 h, indicating good agreement between predicted and experimental values. In addition, Tfb appears to be the most significant parameter. {\^A}{\copyright} 2023 by the authors.},
             url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85152443897&doi=10.3390\%2fagronomy13030725&partnerID=40&md5=20f4bce7b3e2e4234a660bc96324930b}
}